By PAVEL BAILEY
Tribune Staff Reporter
pbailey@tribunemedia.net
THE Court of Appeal ruled that a mother and daughter convicted of attempting to murder two of their tenants on an unnamed Fox Hill road in 2021 should remain in prison until they are sentenced in January.
Court of Appeal President Justice Milton Evans, along with Justices Bernard Turner and Gregory Hilton, ruled in favour of the prosecution that Michelle Williams, 57, and Glenresha Williams, 37, should remain in custody as they await sentencing for attempted murder.
Last month, the pair were found guilty by an 8–1 jury verdict of two counts of attempted murder before Justice Renae McKay.
Although Justice McKay initially allowed the convicts’ trial bail to be extended until their sentencing hearing on January 27, the prosecution, led by T’Shura Ambrose, strongly objected. The pair had remained on bail pending the outcome of Ms Ambrose’s appeal.
In her submissions, Ms Ambrose said the women were convicted of an offence that warranted a custodial sentence, adding that the presumption of innocence falls away upon conviction.
She argued that the complainants had expressed fear of retaliatory violence should the defendants be allowed to remain on bail pending sentencing, and said the convicts faced no exceptional circumstances justifying their release.
Ms Ambrose also warned that allowing the pair to remain on bail would open the floodgates for other convicted people to apply for bail while awaiting sentencing.
In response, defence counsel Ian Cargill and Tamika Roberts argued that the trial judge had properly exercised her discretion in allowing the convicts to remain on bail pending sentencing on January 27.
With the Court of Appeal ruling in favour of the prosecution, the convicts will remain in prison until their next court date.
The women, along with a male, were accused of attempting to kill Adrian Cooper and Savannah Bain with a handgun on an unnamed road near Komer Street on October 21, 2021.
The victims testified that the pair cut them off on the road, after which Glenresha confronted Savannah outside their vehicles. They said they were then shot at by a male who exited the defendants’ vehicle.
Adrian told the court he thought he was going to die after a bullet grazed his face, while Savannah expressed similar fear for her life during the ordeal.
Glenresha testified that she believed the shots came from elsewhere and said she did not know the male in their vehicle had fired until surveillance footage of the incident was played.
Before the shooting, the defendants had reportedly contacted the victims requesting rent money.
Along with Ms Ambrose, Ashton Williams appeared for the prosecution.
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